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One for the Rowed
An elite sport lightens up : Source: Added Feature from City Paper's Health and Fitness Guide from 6/22/2006, Writer: Aaron Jentzen Cool, early evening breezes sigh through the dense foliage on the shoreline, a hushed calm broken only by coach Laura Stack, who’s sitting in a small motorboat, bawling at the top of her lungs. Several yards away, eight rowers sit low to the water in a “shell,” trying to keep up with her instructions. Here and there you see a few false starts, a little splashing as a misplaced oar (or “sweep”) gets caught in the water or pulls through the surface too early in the stroke. It’s not exactly the galley scene from Ben Hur, but neither is it the stereotype of rowing as an activity for well-to-do male WASPs. That reputation has clung to rowing since its origins as an English university sport, beginning with Oxford and Cambridge universities’ first race in 1829. Such traditions would have a hard time negotiating the waters of Pittsburgh, where crews head down the Allegheny River from Millvale toward the Downtown skyline, passing the specters of Pittsburgh’s working-class history and its sometimes gritty urban environments. Rusty bridge trestles and industrial buildings line the shore, along with the looming, lately re-purposed shell of the Armstrong Cork Factory — not to mention Millvale itself. Bright, cryptic graffiti explodes off concrete embankments … even as, here and there, a smaller, stenciled design celebrates a win or commemorates a season for one of Pittsburgh’s many high school and college crew teams, including those from Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon and Pitt. Indeed, thanks to the Three Rivers Rowing Association’s 20 years of work and some recent changes, you’re less likely to see ultra-competitive teams on the Allegheny than you are to find casual rowers, Westinghouse High School students or an “adaptive rowing” team of people with disabilities. On the water tonight, Stack guides a team of men and women of varying ages, who are enjoying some friendly recreation after a long work day at Alcoa — part of the TRRA’s Corporate Rowing League. Helping to create a more inclusive access to the sport locally is a new director, Richard T. Butler. A physical wellness and leadership coach originally from Homewood, Butler has upped the ante with programs and scholarships to include the disabled and inner-city youths. As a result, the organization has grown significantly this year, and also attracted some new blood. Devin Fay, 25, moved from upstate New York with the goals of starting a dance troupe — Kinetix Dance Company — and finding a place to coach rowing. After researching 10 cities, he decided Pittsburgh was the place for him, and he landed a job at TRRA as “kinda one of the overseeing coaches.” He now puts in about 22 hours a week with a range of teams, from high school rowers to the Heinz corporate crew. “It’s a lot different than a lot of things I’ve ever done — mostly I’ve coached younger kids,” says Fay. “I’d like to see the program get a little bigger, with a reputation as something that’s really fun and gives you a good workout. Something that people can come down and do on the weekend and not have it be a hassle.” With a record-breaking participation — more than 300 rowers — in this year’s Summer Rowing League and Corporate Rowing League, more newcomers and beginners are taking to Pittsburgh’s rivers than ever before. Yet for these beginners, the sport’s rewards can take awhile to materialize. “Rowing is a really frustrating sport, because basically you’re doing the same motion over and over,” says Fay. That’s especially true, he adds, “if you row at a mediocre level or an all-right level, and you do the same bad things every time.” That’s why he’s pushing all his teams toward greater technical proficiency, and encouraging some, like the Heinz corporate team, to practice more than the usual once-a-week. “If you have a little more technique, and then start to pull hard and do other things, it’s a lot easier. And more fun.” The after-row barbecue and brews at the boathouse probably don’t hurt, either. Links * Three Rivers Rowing Association at 412-231-8772, or e-mail trra@ThreeRiversRowing.org